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"I literally saw him texting seconds before a message came through. Of course it's Benson. Who the fuck else would it be?" I shot back. "Speaking of my phone, where is it?"

"Craig has your phone. He's double-checking who we think is responsible for the threats you've been getting. I think there's very little chance it will be anyone else. And once we have the confirmation we need, we have a plan for how we're going to deal with it." He said calmly.

"One, who do you think it is? Two, how can you be certain? And three, do I get to know what this plan is since it's to do withmytexts?" I demanded, holding up a finger with each number.

"One, Rinaldo Marino. Two, because of the last message you received and what we learned from our guest. Three, yes… butyou're not going to like it." He responded, reaching across the island and pushing down each of my fingers with his responses.

A wave of nausea washed over me, and I knew if I looked in a mirror, my face would be deathly pale. "What did he send, Rich?" My voice trembled.

He fished his phone out of his pocket, unlocked it, and looked at it momentarily. "There's… a picture with it. Are you sure you want to know?"

Even as fear over whatever might have been sent rolled through me, my resolve to know the reasoning never wavered. As often as the guys had pissed me off, they'd never lied to me, not once.

"Please," I whispered. "I need to know."

"It was Noah…" He answered quietly.

I pushed off the bar stool so fast it clattered to the floor and raced around the island to the sink. I didn't need more than what he'd said to know what he meant. The memory of my friend being murdered flashed through my mind as I heaved into the empty basin, emptying the little I'd eaten down the drain. I felt Rich's hand on my back, gently rubbing circles, with the other pulling my hair out of my face and holding it out of the way while I emptied my stomach.

He didn't say anything; he just stood and offered silent comfort while I cried after the dry heaving had stopped. Somewhere in my mind, I appreciated that he gave no shallow platitudes while I worked my way back to composure. Taking several deep breaths, I lifted off the sink, gripping the edges. I stared at it without really seeing it for a long time. He shifted to give me a little space but didn't remove his hand from my back.

"So, what's the plan to make him stop?" I asked finally.

He heaved a heavy sigh. His fingers trailed lightly across my back as he let his hand fall away and stepped back from me.

"We're going to attempt to buy you from Rinaldo," he said solemnly.

I turned slowly to face him, leaning against the sink for support as my eyes roved over him. His face was twisted in regret, his shoulders tensed, every part of him screaming that he didn't like the idea, even if he intended to go through with it.

"Okay," I nodded. "If it means no more of my friends die because of some sick obsession, then okay."

His head snapped up to look at me, searching my face. "Just… okay?"

"I'm not exactly thrilled at the idea of someone owning me, but if it had to be anyone…" I shrugged. "You're all uptight assholes and you piss me off, but even I know the horsemen don't trade in skin."

"Princess, we wouldn't own you–"

A loud boom shook the house, cutting him off. Before I could ask what was happening, Rich grabbed my arm and dragged me toward the camera room at a clipped pace. I stumbled, tripping over my feet and nearly falling as I attempted to keep up. Smoke was pouring into the billiards room.

"Shit, where are our fucking men?" He scowled.

Movement at the end of the gallery caught my attention just as we turned the corner to the grand foyer.

"Rich…" I managed to croak out. "I think someone is in the house."

"Yes, Princess, there's someone in the house," he clipped as he pulled me into the dining room. "And none of my men stopped them."

He pushed open the catch in the wall and slid the door open to the camera room.

"Why aren't we leaving?" I demanded as we stepped inside. The thought of being discovered in that small space caused my body to seize with panic.

Rich paused long enough to look me over and frowned. "Your father really did keep you out of the fucking loop. Princess, we chose this room to set up our own surveillance of the house and propertybecauseit's secure. It's a panic room. We don't have time for me to get into any more than that, but you'll be safe in here."

"You can't leave me in here alone!" I shrieked as he stepped clear of the door, leaning inside the room just far enough to punch a code into the number pad on the wall.

"You're not alone, Babygirl." He said, giving me a reassuring smile as the door slid shut between us.

"Rich!" I shrieked, banging my fists against the door.